1- Center for Air Pollution Research (CAPR), Institute for Environmental Research (IER), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, AND Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, AND Department of Research Methodology and Data Analysis, Institute for Environmental Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 3- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 4- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran 5- Center for Air Pollution Research (CAPR), Institute for Environmental Research (IER), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 6- Department of Human Ecology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 7- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran , m_hoseini2174@yahoo.com

Abstract: (2048 Views)

Background and Objective: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of organic pollutants that are mostly generated during the incomplete combustion. The main objective of this study was to characterize potential sources of PAHs in Tehran.

Materials and Methods:, Samples of PM10 were collected at 10 monitoring stations belonging to Tehran Air Quality Control Company (AQCC) and transferred to laboratory for analysis. Besides, a SKC Flite 2 Air Sampling Pump (SKC, USA) equipped with a sampling head and PM10 size-selective inlet was used at four stations to compare the results obtained by collecting AQCC monitors (AQCCMs) tapes with the standard sampling procedures for assessing the interchangeability of two field sampling methods. The principal component analysis (PCA) and diagnostic ratios were applied to identify emission sources and source contribution.

Results: The average diagnostic ratios of phenanthrene (Phe)/ (Phe+anthracene (Ant)), benzo(a)anthracene (BaA)/ (BaA+chrysene (Chry)), fluorantene(Flu)/ (Flu+pyrene (Py)), and indeno(1,2,3cd) pyrene (IcP)/(IcP+benzo(ghi)perylene (BghiP)) in samples were 0.79, 0.52, 0.43 and 0.38, respectively. These ratios showed that the combustion, especially fossil fuels and motor vehicles, was the main sources of PAHs emission in Tehran. The results of PCA analysis also indicated that 49, 29 and 22% of PAHs sources in Tehran atmosphere were attributed to gasoline-driven vehicles, diesel vehicles and other sources, respectively.

Conclusion: According to the results, the combustion, especially fossil fuel and motor vehicle, was the main sources of PAHs emission in Tehran.